Want to find the best games like Hollow Knight? Well, you aren't alone. Hollow Knight set the standard all the way back in 2017, and is still regarded as one of the best Metroidvania games ever. However, if you love its gloomy charm and want to find more games like Hollow Knight today, there's good news and bad.
The bad news is that despite being announced in 2019 and winning two Most Anticipated Game awards since, the sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong, may still be a long way off. As incredible as it's bound to be, you're probably better off looking for something else to while away the hours in the meantime. The good news is that there are loads of incredible Metroidvanias out these days, many of which offer the same level of challenge, intrigue, and mystery.
So popular is the genre that new games are popping up almost every month to contend for the throne – like this upcoming title from Hyper Light Drifter's Heart Machine. We've scoured the last few years of releases to bring you this: our pick of the 10 best games like Hollow Knight to play right now.
10. Axiom Verge 2
Developer: Thomas Happ Games
Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC
Much like Hollow Knight, the original Axiom Verge is regarded by many as a benchmark of the genre. Unlike Hollow Knight, this one got a timely sequel. Axiom Verge 2 embraces what made the first game work – the freedom to explore a seemingly endless branching world depicted in a dramatic pixel art style – and does something fairly experimental with the rest.
Axiom Verge 2 puts exploration and story front and center, while combat takes a slight backseat – an unusual move for a Metroidvania of any stripe – but it works. After Axiom Verge's intergalactic adventure, the sequel puts you back on solid ground. Following reclusive billionaire Indra Chaudhari on a quest to save her daughter, you'll travel (and battle) through the ruins of an ancient civilization, upgrading your tech as you go and fighting ever-more fearsome monsters. If you're looking for something familiar and yet creative, this is a great example of what can be achieved within the flexible boundaries of the genre.
9. Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Developer: Moon Studios
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PC
It's hard to get over Hollow Knight's captivating visual style, but I'm willing to bet Ori and the Will of the Wisps will scratch that particular itch. Hand-painted artwork and smooth animation couples with a sweeping orchestral score to create something truly beautiful. It's a breathtaking setting for one of the more emotional Metroidvania titles available, and one you'll get a real thrill from exploring.
During your adventure, you'll square up to some colossal beasts, unique boss fights, and challenging puzzles. Jump, climb, and glide around – opening up new areas as you become more powerful and have access to better gear. Ori and the Will of the Wisps manages to be a pacy and exciting game, while posing some genuine headscratchers and hitting some deeply heartbreaking narrative beats. Check out our four-and-a-half-star Ori and the Will of the Wisps review here.
8. Nine Sols
Developer: Red Candle Games
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PC
Another gorgeous hand-drawn platformer and the recipient of multiple awards since its release in early 2024, Nine Sols is a deeply difficult yet endlessly rewarding game. If you loved the lore and exploration of Hollow Knight and want something to keep you enraptured til the very end, Nine Sols might be your best bet.
A mix of Metroidvania and Soulslike, Nine Sols is a punishingly difficult game with relentless deflection-based combat, styled around a story of revenge and retribution. The game deals with some harrowing plot details, as should be expected in any title from Red Candle Games, and explores themes of posthumanism and unimaginable betrayal. Little Yi bounces and floats around the screen, gradually building strength and equipment for the onslaught of bullet hell battles he must go through to take out the Nine Sols. You can read our Nine Sols review here.
7. Cult of the Lamb
Developer: Massive Monster
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PC
You might not get the connection immediately, but hear me out. Yes, the multi-award-winning Cult of the Lamb does often get lumped into the "cozy gaming" category. Yes, you do get to build a cult and make sure your cult members are all fed and housed, and… sacrificed. But Cult of the Lamb is also an endlessly replayable roguelike dungeon crawler with fast-paced combat and the ability to literally cheat death.
It's got the same gloomy-yet-gorgeous vibes as Hollow Knight but offers a slightly more lighthearted approach, if you can look past all the cannibalism and murder. The gameplay is split between managing your cult – from passing decrees to breeding cultists – and smashing up enemies in increasingly more challenging dungeons. Read what we had to say about Cult of the Lamb in our deep dive on the game.
6. Animal Well
Developer: Billy Basso
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X, PC
We've drawn comparisons between Hollow Knight and Animal Well before, but a list of Knight-alikes wouldn't be complete without mention of the 2024 indie hit. Rated 'overwhelmingly positive' on Steam, this is one to play regardless of where you are in your Silksong news withdrawal.
This gothic, bug-filled game sustains its players on a steady diet of puzzles, hidden secrets, and creative solutions. You're thrown in with almost no context and no knowledge of the world you're about to explore, leaving you to unravel the mysteries and lore of a labyrinthine underground. It's dense, exciting, and feels genuinely rewarding to play. We gave it four and a half stars in our Animal Well review, calling it "an endlessly inventive Metroidvania with unfathomable depth."
5. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Developer: ArtPlay
Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Legendary developer Koji Igarashi is synonymous with the Castlevania series, and his most recent game, the unashamedly old-school Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, is very much in the same mold. It's a Castlevania game in all but name: the baddie's fortress is a castle, you can’t attack up or down, and abilities you pick up from downed enemies often add one of their own moves to your arsenal.
Igarashi doesn't venture out of his comfort zone, but that's okay: there are plenty of games on this list that tread new ground. Short of booting up 1997's Symphony of the Night (and you can do just that on PS4 with the Castlevania Requiem collection), Bloodstained is your best glimpse at an era to which Hollow Knight owes an awful lot.
4. Steamworld Dig 2
Developer: Image & Form
Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Steamworld Dig 2 hands you a pickaxe and asks you to carve a route directly downwards to search for the protagonist of the first game. But this seemingly linear goal is soon diluted as you deviate off the path and find caverns, chests, and doors leading to self-contained puzzle dungeons.
The first game was procedurally generated – in this sequel, everything is created by designers, which makes progression more satisfying and logical. As you pick up upgrades, such as a jetpack or a sticky bomb launcher, new paths will organically reveal themselves, and you'll find even more gold to spend on better items at the surface. The snappy controls round it all off.
3. Dead Cells
Developer: MotionTwin
Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Dead Cells is arguably the best game on this list, but probably the least like Hollow Knight. Each life is its own run, and death resets you to the start. And then you go again, hacking and slashing through levels that remain thematically the same, but in which the layouts change. You progress further and further each time, unlocking item blueprints and spending cells gleaned from enemies on new gear.
You're not playing for the sense of exploration and backtracking: you'll find secret sections, but the sequence of biomes is set from the start. What you play Dead Cells for is the punchy combat and responsive platforming and the way they both change, thanks to the skills and items you pick up. It helps that it's a looker, too.
2. Hades 2
Developer: Supergiant Games
Platforms: PC (for now)
Hades 2 may still be in Steam Early Access, but it's worth playing right now. In the developer's own words, "Hades 2 in Early Access already has more environments, foes, and fully-voiced characters than the full version of the original Hades game." Plus, joining while it's in early access means you can experience near-constant updates with new features and content. You'll not get bored of it in a hurry.
Hades 2 is a great all-rounder for pretty much anyone – it does the job for the ancient Greek buffs, those who like an attractive game with a great soundtrack, or people in the market for compelling hack-and-slash combat. Battling your way through the Underworld in the first game was no joke, but the sequel takes it up a notch and puts you face-to-face with time itself. Every accomplishment or setback is a new reason to try again, with a story that rewards you the more you're willing to put in. We've got a full guide to Hades 2 here, so you can go god-mode pretty much straight away.
1. Metroid Dread
Developer: MercurySteam
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch
When it comes to looking for something to scratch that Metroidvania itch, why not go back to its roots? Metroid Dread is the latest entry featuring Samus Aran, and it's a great one to jump into if you're after something in a similar vein to Hollow Knight. While Team Cherry's platformer gives you more freedom in terms of exploration, you'll no doubt enjoy the side-scrolling action of Metroid Dread.
Set on a remote planet with killer robots and alien lifeforms hunting you, Samus has a variety of abilities to make use of as you progress, including a stealthy Phantom cloaking skill to hide from foes. While it's certainly more linear in comparison to Hollow Knight, it's still well worth a look.
For more action, read our list of the best roguelike games. Or head over to the complete list of all the new PC games heading our way.
